West Nile Cases Reported in Region

Published: August 5, 2006

A Staten Island man has tested positive for the West Nile virus, becoming the first identified case in a resident this year, New York City health officials said yesterday.

The name of the man, who is 67, was not released. He received treatment and is now recovering at home, said Andrew Tucker, a spokesman for the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. He was hospitalized on July 24 after complaining of a fever, headache, muscle pain and severe weakness -- all symptoms of viral meningitis, or inflammation of the spinal cord.

Health officials did not say where he was treated and when he was discharged, but he is expected to make a full recovery, said Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, the city health commissioner.

Last year, 11 cases of West Nile virus were reported in the city, and one of those people died.

This year, 76 New York mosquito pools have tested positive for the virus, most of them on Staten Island.

To help prevent transmission to humans, the health department has been spraying pesticides throughout the city and has urged New Yorkers to use mosquito repellent.

Health officials in Connecticut also confirmed yesterday its first West Nile case this year. An unidentified man, older than 75, from Bristol recovered from his mosquito bites.